Pay scale an obstacle for BCCI to attract big names like Virender Sehwag to the selection committee

The senior national selection committee for the Indian men’s cricket team is currently operating without a head of the panel since Chetan Sharma resigned from the post after featuring in a sting operation by a news channel. Currently, Shiv Sunder Das is acting as the interim chief selector. Apart from SS Das, the other members of the selection panel are S Sharath (South), Subroto Banerjee (Central) and Salil Ankola (West). While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would want to bring in a big name to the sectional panel, the remuneration package is proving to be a stumbling block. As per a PTI report, those willing to do the job are “not taken seriously” due to a lack of “stature”. The head of the selection panel is paid Rs 1 crore annually and the other members take home Rs 90 lakh per annum.   The last vastly experienced cricketers to head the selection panel were Dilip Vengsarkar (2006-2008) and Krishnamachari Srikkanth (2008-2012). Since Sharma’s resignation, there’s a spot vacant from the North Zone and only one big name is eligible for the job — Virender Sehwag. However, it’s unlikely Sehwag will take up the job as former cricketers make more money working as experts on TV channels. “During CoA’s time, Viru (Sehwag) was asked to apply for head coach’s job and then it went to Anil Kumble. It is unlikely he will apply himself and also the pay package isn’t something that will be financially viable for someone of his stature,” a BCCI official told the news agency PTI. “But if we talk about stature, only he makes the cut from North Zone.” That problem can be solved if BCCI raises the pay package for selectors. “It is not that BCCI can’t pay a chairman of selectors at least Rs 4-5 crore. It can actually solve a lot of these conflict of interest issues which prevent prominent players from even thinking of coming into selection committee,” the source said. Increasing the pay scale will not only help BCCI attract the best talent, but it will also strengthen the committee. The report says that it’s difficult for selectors “without a certain pedigree” to stand their ground when a Virat Kohli or a Rahul Dravid is also part of a selection meeting. “When Dilip bhai was chairman, he had to make a choice between S Badrinath and Virat Kohli. He saw a few India A games in Australia and he knew whom to back. Rest is history. He could stand his ground in front of Greg Chappell before that,” the BCCI official added. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.